Contains ten essays that offer insights into the five Leather-Stocking Tales: ""The Pioneers"" (1823), ""The Last of the Mohicans"" (1826), ""The Prairie"" (1827), ""The Pathfinder"" (1840), and ""The Deerslayer"" (1841). This book addresses such issues as race, gender, and ethnicity in Cooper's world and their relationship to ours.